THE SCHAUMBURG GOLF CLUB has reopened most of the renovated BAER NINE, as the second phase of the golf course renovation wraps up. Holes 17-18 will open later this month. For tee times call the club at (847)-885-9000 or visit Schaumburggolf.com.    ______________________________________________________________________

THE GOG BLOG by RORY SPEARS, Director of Content and Creation. Follow Rory on Twitter @GogBlogGuy, Linkedin or Facebook. At Payne’s Valley-part of the Big Cedar Resort in MO.

The Roscommon Michigan golf destination known as Forest Dunes, continues to add to it’s scenic and highly rated property.

The construction has started on a new 10-hole, par 3 golf course. The new golf course will be located on a piece land, that sits between the Loop, and Forest Dunes courses.

And close to the practice area, the clubhouse and HillTopPutting course.

The new course will have 10 fun and strategic holes, that will range between 50 and 155 yards. And the overall yardage will be 957 yards.

Welcome to Forest Dunes Golf-Roscommon Michigan

Forest Dunes owner Lew Thompson considered several top rated architects, before electing to hire Riley Johns and Keith Rhebb. Both have worked on well known projects with Ben Crenshaw and Bill Coore in past years.

Johns and Rhebb received recongition for their work, at the Winter Park Nine in Orlando Florida. Johns has worked at Forest Dunes before, under Tom Doak. During the construction of the Loop course.

Construction has started on the Par 3 course at Forest Dunes.

“We’re thrilled how quickly this project came together this year with the huge amount of trust that Lew has given us,” said Johns. “He wants a golf course that will be fun and playable for his grandkids and any golfer of any skill level, so that’s the main goal we’re keeping in mind as we build holes where you can play a vairiety of shots and trajectories and take different angles to get to the hole.”

The overall look should be visibly enticing to golfers. Fesuce features will be in some areas of the course. With the bentgrass greens to be sloped, this help’s shots feed near the hole. Bowl shaped features resembling catchers-mitts or table tops await golfers who play the course.

The blue prints of the new par 3 course.

“When you come to Forest Dunes, we want you to have a good time,” says Thompson. Who add’s he will allow music-eightsome’s and barefeet if that’s what it takes to make the game fun.  What Kieth and Riley are building is going to bring life and energy to the property. It’s going to bring people together, and make their time at Forest Dunes more enjoyable.”

One of the features in the design, is that holes 1 and 10 will be crossover holes. A tree protects direct ball flight complications. Because the course is in the central area of the property, golfers on the Par 3 course could have a gallery.

So with course is expected to be ready next summer (2020). Work was started, as soon as possible, this summer. Because grassing of the course starts in August.

To learn more about Forest Dunes, please visit Forestdunesgolf.com.

   THE JOHN DEERE CLASSIC is coming up next week, at the TPC Deere Run Course in Silvis Illinois. Michael Kim is the defending champion, and will return to defend his title. Tickets at JohnDeereClassic.com. THE SCHAUMBURG GOLF CLUB has opened the BAER NINE, or at least the first seven holes of it, 10-16. Holes 17 and 18 to open by August 1st. Details on tee times, see Schaumburggolf.com or call (847)-885-9000 .    _____________________________________________________________________

THE GOG BLOG by RORY SPEARS-Director of Content and Creation. Follow Rory on Twitter @GogBlogGuy, Facebook or Linkedin. On the National Course at Reynolds Lake Oconee.

THE GOLDEN BEAR IS BACK. So is the Great Waters Golf Course at Reynolds-Lake Oconee.

Because the Great waters Course in under renovation, Reynolds is currently short one golf course. But when it returns, Lake Oconee will shine unlike ever before.

The Great Waters Course will reopen this October, and Jack Nicklaus himself will be there to open it.

To help celebrate the reopening, one lucky twosome, gets to join in for all the fun. And they get to meet the greatest golfer of all time, Jack Nicklaus.

The 18th hole mid-renovation on the Great Waters Course.

Great Waters was originally built in 1992. As part of the current project, Nicklaus and his design team are taking out around 1,000 trees.

This will not only open up the golf course for better golf, but give golfers some outstanding views of the area.

The golf course will add some yardage that could allow for tournaments to return.

The Jack’s Back Getaway for two does include. A meet and greet with Nicklaus, with pictures taken.

Click here to hear Golfers on Golf, exclusive interview with Jack Nicklaus on the renovation of the Great Waters golf course, at Reynolds-Lake Oconee.

Jack Nicklaus at the recent U.S. Senior Open. photo by Rory Spears.

A special piece of Nicklaus headwear and other Nickluas apparel. A 4-day/3-night accommodations in a Reynolds Cottage. Round-trip domestic airfare and ground transportation. One round of golf on the Great Waters Golf Course. Another round of golf on the Oconee or National golf course. A Reynolds Kingdom of Golf presented by the Taylor Made club-fitting experience.

All meals included. And Tickets to the Reynolds “Rhythm & Brews Festival, that includes regional beers and wines. The cost of the giveaway package is, more than $6,000 dollars.

For more details on the “Jack is Back” promotion. Please visit reynoldslakeoconee.com.

Reynolds features more than 350 miles of shoreline, Six golf courses and much more. It is just 1 hour from the Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson airport.

IRONS AND WOODS-COMING SOON TO LONG GROVE behind the Menards Store that is located on Lake-Cook Road just west of Rt. 53. Irons and Woods will be sports simulator driven, with plenty of golf. But with a bar, bands, slots and more. #staytuned. THE BMW Championship returns to Chicago at the historic Medinah Country Club, this coming August 12-18. For details visit Bmwchampionship.com. Ticket are now on sale.

THE GOG BLOG BY RORY SPEARS-Director of Content and Creation. Follow Rory on Twitter @GogBlogGuy, Linkedin and Facebook. At the Warren Course in South Bend.

THE LAST BMW Championship is coming to Medinah Country Club, the week of August 12-18.

Keegan Bradley is the defending champion, and via video hook-up he joined the media day press conference at Medinah yesterday. You can hear from him below.

The Medinah Country Club is thrilled to be hosting the PGA Tour again, for the first time since 1966. When the club hosted the Western Open for the third time.

Medinah has hosted six major championships, and the 2012 Ryder Cup.For Bradley he called the first two days of the Ryder Cup, among the most fun he has ever had on the golf course.

THE 18TH HOLE on Course 3, is rounding into shape.

The Top 70 remaining players in the Fed Ex Cup Playoffs, will be in the field at Medinah.

The top 30 players in the point standings, after the BMW Championship move on to Atlanta for the Tour Championship. Justin Rose won the Fed Ex Cup Championship in 2018.

The 2020 Chicago Fed Ex Cup event, will take place at the Olympia Fields Country Club, in South Suburban Olympia Fields. Olympia Fields has recent hosted the 2017 KMPG-Women’s PGA Championship, won by Danielle Kang. And the 2015 USGA Amateur Championship won by current PGA Tour star Bryson DeChambeau. Next years championship sponsor, is still to be determined. Because BMW is not renewing it’s contract with the PGA Tour.

Since the 2012 Ryder Cup Medinah has under-gone changes around the club. All of the clubs three golf courses have had renovation, or restoration work done on them.

     THE OPENING HOLE on Course #1-renovated by Tom Doak. THE 8TH HOLE on Course #2. No longer known as the ladies course, but called the Family Course. The Tom Bendelow class design, was restored by former Medinah Superintendent Curtis Tyrell, with help from Rees Jones.

  THE PAR 3, 17TH HOLE (L) will create plenty of excitement during championship week. And the new elevated deck located on the back of the clubhouse, will be hot spot for Medinah’s members and guests during the tournament.

Course #3, Medinah’s Championship Course, has had both bunker and tree work done in recent years. It can play to yardage of 7,657 yards, and a par of 72. Championship week, yardage set by the PGA Tour will likely beover 7,400 yards. Off the golf course, the clubs pool, and tennis area’s have been renovated. The range has been improved, and a teaching-fitting building was built.

Various area’s inside the club house have had upgrades done. Including the wine area, inside bars added, painted and recarpeted locker rooms. The club decided to honor it’s golf history, with replica trophys of the major tournaments it has hosted. It has them on display behind glass in the main lobby.

The Medinah Country Club you saw during the Ryder Cup in 2012, has changed. But in many ways the same, because the club does an excellent job preserving it’s long history.

Championship week will have all kinds of fun things for the fans to do, says WGA Sr. VP of Tournaments, Vince Pellegrino. Great food and interactive golf contests await. Click on below to hear the interview with Keegan Bradley and news about championship week.

The BMW Championship media day press conference, click on above.

Click on above to hear the interview with Medinah Club President Michael Scimo.

Stay clicked in to Golfers on Golf for updates on the championship through out the next several weeks. Tickets and hospitality plans are available at BMWChampionship.com.

  THE SENIOR OPEN TROPHY-Won by Steve Stricker at the Warren Course in South Bend Indiana. THE SCHAUMBURG GOLF CLUB has reopened “most of” the Baer Nine, holes 10-16 on the course. Holes 17 and 18 will open later this month. The work begins today on the Championship Nine in the last phase of the renovation. For tee times and more, call the club that is located at 401 N. Roselle Road at (847)-885-9000.   _____________________________________________________________________

THE GOG BLOG by RORY SPEARS-Director of Content and Creation. Follow Rory on Twitter @GogBlogGuy, Linkedin or Facebook. At the Sr. U.S. Open

IT TOOK, 25 USGA Championships but Steve Stricker is now a USGA Champion. Congratulations Steve, you earned it with a wire-to-wire win down in South Bend.

The Warren Course seemed to fit your eye from the start. 62-64-66-69 got it done. Taking down fellow Wisconsin buddy Jerry Kelly, and best field in golf for guys 50 and over.

Now let’s see if you can win #4 in two weeks at John Deere. That would really be something, so much for being in the 50 and over group.

I was down in South Bend a couple times this past week, and it was great to see the last U.S. Open in the area maybe until 2025.  Because that’s when the U.S. Women’s Open heads to Erin Hills. Between now and then, it’s a little dry around the Midwest with USGA Championships.

WHOEVER AT FOX scheduled the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox for a three hour window on Saturday, needs to have their head examined. Seriously, the game that ran 4 hours and 42 minutes, never had a chance of being played in less than three hours. It left golf fans searching for the live coverage of Round 3 of the Senior Open all over the cable box. Joe Buck finally told viewers where the golf was at, after everyone missed the first holes, and Stricker and Kelly together on the first tee. UGH.

TODAY IS MEDINAH DAY and the last BMW Championship media day, after over a decade of having them. The WGA finally made it official last week, after several of us knew it for months, and said as much. The Western Golf Association says they have conversations going with six or seven Chicago area companies, about keeping the tournament here in the Chicago area every year.

Let’s hope that happens. For the WGA, this is new experience. Recruiting. They haven’t had to look for sponsor in years, haven’t had to recruit players, that’s decided for them. Even the Evans Scholars caddies come to them, and apply for that free college ride.

THE SCHAUMBURG GOLF CLUB reopened most of the Baer Nine this past Saturday. Holes 10-16 are open. 17 and 18 will be along within a few weeks. Work starts today on the Championship Nine. Can’t wait for next July when it’s all done in Schaumburg. Golf Architect Todd Quitno and his team are doing great work at Schaumburg. And now the White Eagle Country Club in Naperville.

THAT BIG RAIN STORM yesterday afternoon, wiped out Round 2 of the Blackberry Amateur at Blackberry Oaks. Tough break for GM/PRO Chad Johansen and everyone who pulled the event together. Most of the players had finished, or were most of the way through their round when, 2.5 inches of rain fell in 20 minutes. And that was that.

THE GOG BLOG returns tomorrow. RS.. Go play everyone.